It’s been a while since my last post and my goal for a little while was to blog at least once a week. Well, needless to say it’s been busy around here. We welcomed our beautiful son on 25 April at 8:09 p.m. He was a whopping 7 pounds 9 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. He’s adorable and his big sister Anabel LOVES him to pieces. Check out the newborn pictures by Daniele Rose Photography – http://danielerose.myshowit.com/alexandershow/index.html. I know you’ll love the pictures as much as I do.

Anyway…I came across a unique idea for a guest book at your wedding (or any event). Some people like the traditional books where people write their names and something nice. But do you EVER go back and re-read everything? When I sign a guest book, I get a little intimidated by ALL THAT SPACE and think to myself “What can I write that’s witty and sweet so they’ll remember what I said?” So, when I saw these puzzle guest books, I thought “what a fantastic idea!” Not only is it unique but it can displayed and looked at all the time. The puzzle guest books are totally fun. Check out some on Etsy!

Some of my friends call me the coupon queen because I love using coupons when I make purchases. Why not save 20% or an extra $1? It all adds up in the end. For every bride I work with, there is a budget. Budgets are as low as $10,000 or can be as high as a couple can (or cannot) afford. No matter what the budget, a couple with a $10,000 budget should still be able to have as beautiful of a wedding as a couple with an unlimited budget.

Earlier this week, I shared caterbid.com with you. Then there was the time saving tool for preparing your seating chart for your reception. Although it may not have saved money, it did save time and time is money. 🙂

One of the categories for a wedding budget is a gift for each person in the bridal party. Although these aren’t required, it is a way to show your appreciation. This is where couples can get into trouble because they usually want to have personalized gifts that have meaning. The problem? It can be expensive! My advice? Wait for a great sale. Sure you could be pushing it to the last minute but who says you can’t give the gift after the wedding? (*shock*) Seriously, you have enough things to worry about and your bridal party should understand that you may not have had time to do some shopping. Besides, should your bridal party be expecting a gift anyway?!

www.weddingchicks.com is having a 50% off sale in their shop if you use discount code unclesam. If you spend $100 or more, you get FREE shipping! Double deals! Love it when this happens!

www.etsy.com is a great way to get unique handmade gifts for your bridesmaids, especially since they all have different personalities. And you know what? If you contact the owners of the etsy shops that you like, they may be able to give you a discount if you order more than one thing from their shop. It doesn’t hurt to ask! Worse thing that could happen is that they say “no, I can’t do that”. I’ve gotten many deals working with these owners.

Clutches by Oatmeal Lace Designs

Although this isn’t directly related to bridal party gifts, another way to save money is to see if vendors are available last minute. Yes, that can be stressful but let me give you an example. Let’s say you want a photo booth at your wedding but you don’t have $1,500 in your budget to pay for a photo booth. Why not wait until closer to your wedding date and see if the vendor has a booth available at a discounted rate. A lot of times vendors who have these type of items want to rent it out rather than have it sit in storage. They could potentially give you MAJOR savings! Again, ask and the worse that could happen is they say “no, sorry”.

One more tip and then I’m done. Consider not having champagne at your wedding. Most guests use whatever glass with whatever liquid to lift for the toast. This could save money and save a lot of waste!

Of course, I’m not advocating for you to wait until the last minute to do your planning…only do this if it’s a “nice to have” item. 🙂

We all know how difficult it can be to create seating assignments at a wedding. I’ve used sticky notes, I’ve used Microsoft Visio, and even MicrosoftPowerPoint! Out of these three things that I’ve tried, I’d have to say that sticky notes were the “easiest” to use…until I stumbled across WeddingMapper.com. They have an interactive seating chart that you can use to easily create your reception place and make tables! The only hard part may be to figure out the dimensions of the reception venue BUT if you have a good catering manager/food & beverage manager at the venue, they should be able to provide that information for you.

Here is a screen print I took while using their demo. You select the table shape (circle or square) and then a handy window pops up asking how many people can be seated at the table (the average is 10 people for a round). Then it creates the table for you! You can drag people from your guest list over to the table and move their guests with the name (as shown below). How much easier can this get?!

We’re coordinating a Bridal Show at the Museum of Ventura County on Sunday, 17 October 2010 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. The price includes admission to the show and museum as well as a museum donation. To register as a bride, visit our website and click on Calendar of Events. If you’re a vendor and are interested in participating, please email us at Cindy@AnEnlightenedEvent.com.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted something but it’s been busy and as you can see below, the results of the planning and great work of all my vendors speak for themselves. Thank you to all of the vendors for a great event!

I attended a Women in Business social last night at the Acacia Mansion in Ojai, CA. What a beautiful home! It is a very affordable place to have a wedding – both ceremony and reception. The best part is that you can have your bridal party stay at the house as well because the home has room for up to 7 couples. This location accommodates up to 150 guests. My favorite part is the barn with saloon. There are also horses and chickens!!!

If you’re already married but want a stay-cation, rent a room at this beautiful place. You won’t regret it!

Have you ever imagined a wedding without a wedding cake? It’s probably not as unusual or rare as you may think. Some people just don’t like cakes and why stop them from having a delicious ending to their reception? So, what can you have in lieu of a wedding cake? Here are some ideas that we’ve gathered.

Photo found on Biscuit Rising Blog
Something new and unique is the dessert shot glass. Fill these 4 oz shot glasses with your favorite dessert whether it be strawberry cheesecake, chocolate brownies, tiramisu, carrot cake, etc. The list goes on and on. The best part, you can double these shot glasses as favors for your wedding guests!

Options are endless. Just think about what dessert you love the most and have it at your wedding. You shouldn’t have a wedding cake because you feel like it completes the wedding. Your entire wedding shows your style and shows a glimpse of who you and your spouse are so why cut it short by having an unwanted wedding cake? If you both love candy, have a buffet of your favorite candies!